1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a positive-type photosensitive composition used for producing, for example, a liquid crystal display element, an EL display element and an integrated solar battery; to a transparent conductive film using the positive-type photosensitive composition; to a display element; and to an integrated solar battery.
2. Description of the Related Art
A patterned transparent film is used in many parts of a display element such as a spacer, an insulative film and a protective film, and hitherto, many positive-type photosensitive compositions (hereinafter may be referred to as a “positive resist”) have been proposed for forming the transparent film (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) Nos. 51-34711, 56-122031 and 05-165214).
In general, thin film transistor liquid crystal displays, an integrated solar batteries, etc. include an insulative film for insulating wirings planarily disposed in the form of laminate, the insulative film having a pattern formed through mechanical scribing or laser scribing. Widely used materials for forming the insulative film are positive-type photosensitive compositions which require a small number of steps for obtaining a desirably patterned insulative film. The positive-type photosensitive composition is desired to have a wide process margin in the process of forming an insulative film.
Further, the produced insulative film or display element using a positive-type photosensitive composition must be exposed, for example, to a solvent, an acid and an alkaline solution through immersion, and be thermally treated. With the recent developments of semiconductor technology, a positive-type photosensitive composition is required to meet stricter requirements year by year, and various attempts have been made to develop satisfactory compositions. But, no material has been reported which has high solvent resistance, high waterproofness, high alkali resistance, high heat resistance, high transparency, excellent adhesion to a base, etc., and keen demand has arisen for a material that have all of these properties.
Meanwhile, wirings are generally formed in light-transmissive portions as follows, considering required properties such as conductivity, transparency and patterning property. Specifically, indium tin oxide (hereinafter may be referred to as “ITO”) and zinc oxide are applied through a dry process such as vapor-deposition or sputtering, and then a negative-type resist is used to form a transparent conductive pattern. But, the above production method requires a lot of steps for forming a patterned transparent conductive pattern, such as application of a negative-type resist, development thereof and etching of the conductive material; and also requires large facilities requiring vacuum conditions and a multi-step chemical treatment. Thus, the simplification of the process is desired in terms of not only improvement in performance of the final product but also the recent concerns about the environment and energy issues.
At present, in terms of process cost, environment and energy issues, there is a need to rapidly provide, for example, a positive-type photosensitive composition with which a patterned transparent conductive film can be formed through a simple process and which has high solvent resistance, high waterproofness, high alkali resistance, high heat resistance, high transparency, excellent adhesion to a base, high conductivity, etc.; a transparent conductive film which is formed from the positive-type photosensitive composition and which has high solvent resistance, high waterproofness, high alkali resistance, high heat resistance, high transparency, excellent adhesion to a base, etc.; and a display element and an integrated solar battery using the transparent conductive film.